


Soulbond

by Veryna



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe - Dancetale, Alternate Universe - Dusttale, Alternate Universe - Errortale, Alternate Universe - Fiftiestale, Alternate Universe - Inktale, Alternate Universe - Manictale, Alternate Universe - Swapfell, Alternate Universe - Underfell, Alternate Universe - Underlust, Alternate Universe - Underswap, F/M, Fluff, Past Child Abuse, Soulmate AU, all the aus
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-14
Updated: 2018-12-04
Packaged: 2019-05-06 21:36:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14656710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Veryna/pseuds/Veryna
Summary: You were only 18 when you when you jumped into Mount Ebott. Looking for an escape, what you actually found was something nobody would have expected: a soulmate. Two years later, the barrier is broken and universes have merged.





	1. Nightmare

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Glitch](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12726867) by [LazyRainDancer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LazyRainDancer/pseuds/LazyRainDancer). 
  * Inspired by [Second Floor Skeletons](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12830040) by [sansual](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sansual/pseuds/sansual). 
  * Inspired by [Skeleton Squatters and the Landlady](https://archiveofourown.org/works/9816140) by [Tyrant_Tortoise](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tyrant_Tortoise/pseuds/Tyrant_Tortoise). 
  * Inspired by [Six Skeletons in Your Closet](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10453650) by [MsMK](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MsMK/pseuds/MsMK). 

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You have a nightmare, and Papyrus comforts you. Some guests drop by.

_     ”Did you really think you could survive on your own? Did you really think anyone would actually want to help you? How long until they get sick of you, and drag you back here? Maybe they'll never bring you back. Maybe they'll just kill you themselves. You've seen what they're capable of. What's stopping them from killing a weak, useless human like you?  They’re monsters, after all. They can’t be trusted.” _

_     Her face split into a wide grin as she slowly advanced towards you, cackling madly. Everything seemed to be swirling. You couldn’t tell which direction was which anymore, all you knew was you had to get away. Your escape was cut short by a wall, and you slid down the wall crying.  _

_     “You’re worthless, eventually you’ll do something to mess it up, just like you always do. What happens then?” _

_     It sounded like your voice but it was distorted and foreign. You cried. Hands clawed at your face, and you were too preoccupied to notice they were your own. Your fingers turned to claws, blood pooling on the floor as they carved lines down your face, and it hurt but you just kept scratching and scratching. You couldn't stop no matter how hard you tried. _

_     Suddenly, you felt hands grab your arms from behind and before you could process what was happening, you were screaming. You thrashed wildly, trying to get away. Your arms were held fast as you struggled against your captor and you started screaming. _

_     “Let me go let me go let me go-” _

_     “Y/N? Y/N, PLEASE! IT’S OKAY!” Wait, it sounded like… _

    “Y/n? It’s just a nightmare, everything is okay. I’m here.”

    You felt yourself being shaken awake gently, and opened your eyes to see Papyrus looking worried. 

    “Papyrus… I’m sorry, did I wake you up?”

    “No- well, yes. But it’s alright.”

    You rolled over and checked the alarm clock. 5:30 in the morning. Well, looks like you were up for the day. You rolled back over to face Papyrus. “Any requests for breakfast?” You asked idly, eyes lazily wandering over the crack in his face.

    He chuckled softly and pulled you towards him, arms wrapping around you. As much as you wanted to stay like this forever, nuzzled into him, anxiety was gnawing away at your mind. You put on a smile you hoped looked genuine and lightly pushed him away. “Sorry, cuddles aren't on the menu. I've got a lot to do today, no time to lie around.” 

   Papyrus looked at you, he smiled but at the same time, he almost looked sad. “You know, y/n, you don't have to hide your worries from me. I don't know what your nightmare was about, but I can feel your soul and I can tell you're not fine.”

    You didn’t respond. Instead you got up and moved to sit at the edge of the bed, facing away from him. The silence hung in the air for a few minutes.

    “Was it your mom?” He asked quietly.

    “... Yeah.”

    Arms wrapped around you once again as he hugged you, resting his head on your shoulder. “She can't hurt you anymore. You're safe now, my brother and I will never let her reach you again. I swear on my life.”

     “I know.” Both of you sat in silence for a bit until you spoke up again. “I guess the nightmare just has me on edge. I'd rather be up and moving around right now. Just need a distraction.”

    With a small, sad sigh, he let you go. “Understandable. I'll be in here for a few more hours if you need anything.”

    You smiled at him, more genuine this time, and got up to get dressed. As you pulled you night shirt over your head and rummaged through the drawer for a new one, you felt Papyrus's eyes boring into your back. Embarrassed, you quickly pulled the shirt on and turned to face him, face flushed. “You know it's embarrassing when you stare like that…”

    “Sorry. It’s just… I find the human body fascinating. Especially yours.”

    Face flushing darker, you tossed a pillow at him with a light giggle. “You big dork, you'd think after all this time you'd be used to it.” 

     He caught the pillow and looked down at it thoughtfully. “It has been quite a while, hasn't it… Almost two years now.”

     “Yeah..” Wow, two years had passed in the blink of an eye. You had been living with the skeleton brothers for two years now, it seemed like almost no time had passed. “Do you still remember how it happened?”

    His grin widened. “Of course I do.”

**TWO YEARS EARLIER**

__ You shivered slightly, wrapping your arms around you for warmth. It was super cold, and you really wished you had thought to bring a jacket. Note to self, next time you plan on spontaneously falling into a mountain, bring a coat. Luckily, there seemed to be a town coming up soon. With any luck you could warm up and grab a bite to eat. You were nearly there, just had to cross this bridge and…

    Uh… You couldn’t move. What the hell? No matter how much you struggled you couldn’t budge, it was like there was a weight in your soul. The sound of footsteps crunching through the snow behind you caused you to freeze. Well, more than you already were. You gulped as they came closer and closer, your eyes screwing shut as you waited for your inevitable gruesome murder. After what seemed like an eternity, you felt a feeling like somebody was leaning onto your shoulder, and a smooth voice brushed past your ear.

    “hey.”

    The weight in your soul now seeming to be lifted, you turned slowly to find a skeleton watching you with a sly grin and a curious expression. His face was only inches from yours, and the first thing you noticed was the two cracks running through his skull, above his left eye and one below his right. The second thing you noticed was, despite him being a skeleton, he was actually hot. You gave a small involuntarily gulp as you felt your face heat up. He (Now that you thought about it, how did you know it was a ‘he’?) apparently noticed this and seemed to raise an eyebrow at it. Despite not actually having eyebrows.

    “heh. i’m sans. sans the skeleton.” He spoke in a low, rough voice, but his tone seemed to hold no malice. He reached out a hand for you to shake, and you noticed his hands seemed to have large holes removed from the middle of them. Tentatively, you reached out your own hand to return the handshake.

    “I’m (y/n).”

    “you seem cold. here, take this.” He shrugged of his jacket and handed it to you. You gratefully took it and put it on.

    “Um, thanks. But won’t you be cold?”

    Shrugging, he pulled a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it with a yellow spark of what you guessed was magic. It was strange, you observed, that his grin never seemed to falter. “nah. i’m a skeleton, i’m much less sensitive to the cold than you human types are.” He stopped to place the cigarette between his teeth before continuing. “c’mon, lets get you out of this cold. it’s been a long time since a human’s fallen down, my brother will probably wanna see you.”

    On one hand, you weren’t sure if you should trust this strange new monster. He seemed friendly enough, even giving up his jacket for you. But, the first monster you had met seemed friendly too, until he tried to kill you with his “friendliness pellets.” On the other hand, it wasn’t like you had much other choice. From the looks of it, there was only one direction you could go. This was all unfamiliar territory to you, before yesterday you had only ever heard of monsters from fairy tales and story books and now you were talking to a skeleton. You decided to trust this smiley stranger and followed him into town.

    It was only a short walk, which was strange because it seemed much longer when you were still at the bridge. At any rate, you were now in the town. As Sans gave you a tour, you observed the monsters here were much different than those in the Ruins. There was a grill run by what seemed to be a be a fire elemental, and an inn and a shop both run by two friendly looking bunnies. Outside bunnies milled about, and a bear seemed to be decorating a Christmas tree. You were pretty sure it was only April when you fell down, maybe Monster customs were different. Inside the library, or “librarby” as the sign said, you saw a few monsters roaming around and browsing the books. One of these you recognised as a Loox, from your time in the ruins. Finally, the tour came to an end at Sans’ house. It was an average looking house, two stories and not too big but not too small. 

    “wait here, i’ll get papyrus.” Sans told you as you entered the house, and he walked off. You decided to look around. There appeared to be three rooms. You figured Sans and Papyrus took up two of them, and you vaguely wondered who the third belonged to. There was a joke book lying on a table nearby, and you decided to sneak a look. Inside was a quantum physics book, which in turn held another joke book. You decided to put it down. The house itself was decorated sparsely, there didn’t seem to be much furniture.  Just as you started inspecting a rock sitting on a table, you heard Sans behind you again. 

    “i see you’ve met pebble.”

    You jumped slightly, flushing as he laughed. “Oh, uh, I was just looking around a bit.”

    “well as much as i’d love to hear what you think of the place, i found paps.” He gestured to his brother, so you turned to look and…

    Woah.

    You froze at the sight of Papyrus. The moment your eyes met his, it was like your soul was trying to jump out of you and towards him. He was tall, and by tall you meant  _ tall. _ You could feel yourself blushing as you continued to stare, and maybe it was a trick of the light but you swore you could see a hint of green in his cheek...bones? He wore a long coat over a green sweater, and you noticed he shared the same crack above his left eye as his brother. Now, you never thought you’d hear yourself saying this about a skeleton but, he was super attractive. You immediately felt a connection with him and couldn’t explain why. Neither of you moved, and you don’t know how long you both stood there but apparently it was long enough for Sans to speak up. “uh, i think this is the part where you introduce yourselves.”

    Papyrus jumped a bit, stammering. “O-oh! Right! Um, hello human. I am Papyrus.” He held out a hand. You took the hand and politely shook it. 

    “I’m (y/n). Are you, uh, feeling alright?” He looked confused so you continued. “Your face is a little green, so I thought maybe you were feeling nauseous or, something..”

    It took him a moment to register your words, but once he did he turned away from you, covering his face. Sans snickered in the background like you had just made the best joke he’d ever heard. 

    “Ah, no, I’m uh, fine.” He seemed… embarrassed? Probably better to just drop it, you decided. You noticed he seemed to speak very deliberately, as if he was carefully choosing each word. It was barely noticeable, but definitely there. The three of you sat in silence longer, until Sans broke it.

    “so. you’re the human that fell down huh? how’d you manage that?”

    You thought for a moment, trying to decide how much you wanted to tell the skeletons. “I was trying to get away.”

    “from what?”

    “I’d uh… rather not talk about that.” You stared off to the side and felt a pang of sadness shoot through your soul. Strangely, at that exact moment you could’ve sworn you saw Papyrus raise a hand to his own chest from the corner of your eye. Probably just imagined it. 

    “well, we’ve all got skeletons in our closet, i won’t push you. how do you plan on getting home?”

    “I’m still working on that part.” Truthfully, you weren’t sure you ever wanted to go home. 

    “Um, human…” Papyrus hesitantly began speaking.

    “name’s (y/n)” interjected Sans.

    “Yes, (y/n). If you have nowhere else to stay… Perhaps you could live here, at least for the time being?” He played with the sleeves of his coat. He almost seemed… nervous? Off to the side, Sans’ eyes widened. 

   “woah, wait. you’re offerin’ to let the human live with us?”

   “Yes, assuming you have no complaints with it, that is.”

   “it’s all fine with me. just, didn’t expect it i guess.” Sans was confused. His brother was always a trusting person, but even so he didn’t seem to be the type to let a stranger move in with them. A quick check told him you had no LV, which means you weren’t on what he liked to call a genocide timeline, so he trusted you enough. There was always the chance the timeline would be neutral rather than pacifist, but seeing as you didn’t even bother to change your weapon from the stick you always started with, he guessed you weren’t here to kill anyone. Now, this was the first timeline he had been through with you, which means he could be making a bit of a gamble by using the other humans to predict you. You seemed trustworthy enough, however. He really hoped you wouldn’t prove him wrong, especially since his brother already seemed so fond of you. He had seen Papyrus’s reaction when you two met, and if his hunch was right,  this timeline would be a lot more interesting and potentially devastating than all the others.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

    “And since then, I found my soulmate, broke the barrier, moved to the surface, and even met other versions of all the monsters.” You finished your story with a warm feeling in your soul, a feeling you knew Papyrus shared. He hugged you from behind, running one hand gently through your hair.

    “What an arduous ride it’s been.” He murmured into the back of your head. “Did you ever wish you could just leave and go back to the surface?”

     You hummed contentedly, closing your eyes and leaning back against him.

    “Honestly? All the time. Every death made me wish I could just go back to a normal life. But you know what? For you, I’d do it all again in a heartbeat.”

    A crash sounded from the kitchen, followed by a string of swears and a simple “sorry boss”.

    You laughed, releasing yourself from Papyrus’s grip. “Speaking of alternate versions, looks like our guests just arrived.”

    He gave a smile back, but you didn't fail to notice the slightly tired expression just behind it. “Yes, it would seem they have.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! This is my first ever fanfiction so I would love some feedback. I'm always looking to improve! 
> 
> Also! Consider dropping by [my Tumblr](https://eveewazhere.tumblr.com)!
> 
> Like my work? Maybe enough consider [buying me a coffee](https://ko-fi.com/B0B4DHIY)?


	2. Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The skeletons hold a meeting. You reminisce, and a new challenger appears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! Early update this time since this fanfic is just getting off its ground. The next update will come on the normal schedule.

    “What are you so worried about? I made it through the underground just fine, I can handle a couple new skeletons.”

    Papyrus paced back and forth restlessly, then turned to face you. The worry was evident bis face. 

    “Edge and Red… are a lot different than the skeletons you've met up until now. Ink is peaceful, for the most part, and Error is harmless as long as Ink is here to keep him in check. But these two.... They come from a drastically different version of the Underground, one which Ink calls ‘Underfell', and they aren't as… merciful as most.”

    You paused, letting his words sink in. “So… are you saying they might be dangerous?”

    He sighed, averting his eyes as he fiddled with the sleeves on his coat. Silence took over the room, and simply watched as his face went from nervous, to something resembling resignation, to resolve, before he finally met your eyes again. Smoothing.down his coat collar, he started towards the stairs, stopping momentarily to look over his shoulder at you with a sigh.

    “Just… Just stay close, and you'll be fine. I promise.”

~×~×~×~

Snowdin Town, 2 years ago

    “Do you really have to leave?”

    You gave Papyrus a sad smile, you didn't want to leave either. “In any other situation, I would want nothing more than to stay here with you guys. But I've seen the looks on everyone's faces when they talk about the Barrier. Everyone is losing hope. I can't let them live like this.”

    Papyrus's expression softened from concern to gentle admiration. “It'll be dangerous.”

    “I know.”

    “You could get hurt…”

    “I know.”

    He sighed, a subtle smile coming across his skull. Sans, just entering the room, chuckled. “heh. i know we can't stop ya, you're definitely a determined one. but just be careful. for your sake and ours. paps here would probably have a heart attack if anything happened to ya.” He patted you roughly on the back, grinning. “i guess i’d miss ya too. stay safe, kid.”

    You bid final farewells to Sans and Papyrus, hosting your bag up onto your shoulders. At Papyrus's insistence, it had been packed full of snacks and food for the journey ahead. Sans programmed both of them into your phone before leaving, and after you had promised to keep them both updated on your journey, you made your way out of Snowdin and into the rest of the Underground.

    You had been walking for less than an hour before you started to see the snowy landscape transform into blue soil. Up ahead was another save star, and you eagerly rushed towards it. Your steps slowed, however, as you noticed a stranger in front of the Save Star. Two thing came to your attention immediately. One, it seemed as if this stranger could actually  _ see _ the Star, and two, it was a skeleton. One that looked very familiar

    You stared in confusion. This stranger almost looked like Sans. You would've thought it was him, if it weren't for the fact that you had just left him back in Snowdin. In addition, this new skeleton seemed to have a different outfit, one which you noted included a large cream scarf. You considered the possibility of it being a prank, but before you could say anything the strange skeleton turned towards you. “Oh, hello!”

    You realised you were staring and quickly shook your head to clear it. “Uh, hello?” Now that he was facing you, you could see the strangers face clearly. He looked exactly like Sans, but was missing the telltale cracks. His jaw seemed to be stained by a dark splotch as well. Most interesting of all were his eyelights, which seemed to change every time he blinked. Currently they were settled into a red heart and multicoloured question mark.

“Can you… see that star?

    He grinned, and his eyelights shifted, now the shape of the yellow save star and a red exclamation point. “You must be the human of this universe!” You stared back at him, confused, and he seemed to realise he was getting a bit ahead of himself. “Oh, sorry. I'm Sans! Nice to meet'cha!”

    You blinked. “... No you're not.”

    Now it was his turn to be taken aback. “I'm sorry?”

    “I just left Sans’ house, you're not Sans.”

    He just looked at you for a bit before realization dawned. “Oh, right! Your Sans, how could I forget?” With a grin, he straightened himself up and pulled out a  _ massive _ paintbrush. “I'm Sans, but not the Sans you know. I'm formally known as Inktale Sans protector of Alternate Universes. But you can call me Ink!"

~×~×~×~

    You shook yourself from memories as you entered the kitchen. You looked up to see the new guests.

    …….

 

    Woah. You could see why Papyrus seemed so worried now. Standing there in the kitchen before you were two  _ very _ intimidating looking skeletons.

     The taller one, who you could guess was the Papyrus, towered over you. While your Papyrus was still much taller, what this new one lacked in height, he made up for by simple presence alone. His skull was cracked along his right eye, and you got the feeling it was from some kind of battle. You fought to suppress a shiver as you noticed his teeth, which appeared to be  _ very  _ sharp. He was dressed in all red and black, with skin tight leather pants and knee high pointed red boots. Arms crossed and a scowl on his face, you had a feeling his personality was every bit as dark and rough as his wardrobe. This one must be Edge.

    The Sans of the group, while dressed in a similar fashion as his Papyrus, seemed to share at least some similarities with the Sans you knew. Like his brother, this new Sans also had a series of cracks running along his skull as well as a mouthful of razor looking teeth set in a grin. You noted with interest that one of these teeth were gold. His left eye was activated, you noticed, even though he didn't seem to be using any actual magic. He wore a black hoodie with a fur lined hood and a simple pair of black and yellow basketball shorts. 

    You must have been staring for quite a while, because Papyrus cleared his throat. 

  “Ahem. Y/n, this is the Sans and Papyrus of the Underfell universe, also known as Red and Edge, respectively.”

    “Hello! My name is Y/N.” You gave them both a polite grin, offering a hand for them to shake. Edge took one look and scoffed, turning away as if you just told him you had some highly infectious disease. Before you had time to be offended, however, Red had grabbed your hand. Bringing it close to his face, he licked your palm all the way from your fingertips to your wrist with a large red tongue, leaving a trail of bright red slime behind.

    “heheh. nice to meet’cha kitten. you can call me big red.” He released your hand with a wink, tongue still lolling out from between his teeth. You pulled your hand away in disgust, feeling your face heat involuntarily. Before you could react, Papyrus had stepped protectively in front of you, giving Red the nastiest glare.

    “WELL. Now that introductions are done, could you please tell me why you are here?”

 

~*~*~*~

 

    “so yea, that's basically it.”

    “I see…” Papyrus sat back, rubbing his jaw thoughtfully. “So they think they've found a way to get their respective versions of Gaster back, but they need our help.”

    You couldn't help but notice how uncomfortable Sans and Papyrus both looked, but it was pretty obvious why. While every other pair of skeletons from each universe, with the exception of Error and Ink possibly, had their own versions of Gaster, your Sans and Papyrus did not. You didn't know all the details, mainly due to the fact that Papyrus didn't remember and Sans wasn't too keen on telling the story. What you did know, however, was that an accident long ago had somehow caused the brothers to be fused with their Gaster. 

    “and why exactly should we help you?” Sans spoke up in between cigarette drags, breaking your train of thought. “why should we help you guys get your gasters back when we're never gonna see ours again?” His grin was tight. You may not have been able to feel his soul, but it was obvious this was a sore spot for him.

    Red grinned with a snide expression. “oh i dunno, maybe out of the kindness of your cold, dead, soul?”

    Sans snorted, eye flashing. “cold dead soul? ha! that's rich coming from the likes of you.”

     “an’ what exactly is that s’posed t’mean?” Now it was Red's turn to flash.

    “oh, you know exactly what it means.”

    “Brother! Please, calm down! Yelling will solve nothing.” Papyrus placed a hand on his brothers shoulder, and Sans glared at Red a moment longer before huffing and sitting back in his chair, growling at the victorious smirk on Red's face. Just as everything settled, another crash like the one that morning sounded from the kitchen. 

    “oh great, there's more of them.” Sans sighed and slid off his chair. “i’ll get ‘im.” With that, he disappeared downstairs. Uncomfortable silence filled the room until he returned, a tall orange skeleton in tow.

    Edge spoke up, this was the first he'd spoken since you met him and you couldnt help but notice a certain cheese grater like quality to his voice. “OH GREAT. THEY SENT THE ASHTRAY OVER. THIS MEETING WILL JUST KEEPS GETTING BETTER AND BETTER.” 

    “hey. they figured it would probably be a good idea to send me over to make sure nobody's trying to dust anyone and all that.” That last comment seemed specifically aimed at Red. You guessed he probably had a history. That was the furthest thought from your mind, however, as you jumped up in excitement. Meeting all but forgotten, you rushed excitedly over to the new skeleton.

    “Wow, three in one day! This is the best day of my entire life!” You were sure if it was possible, you would have literal stars in your eyes. “My name is Y/N!” It took all your willpower not to literally squeal. While the dread in Papyrus's soul had kept you mostly in check while meeting Red and Edge, there was nothing now to keep you calm.

    “...heh. you remind me of someone.” The new skeleton regarded you with a lazy smile. He removed one hand from the pocket of his hoodie, sticking it out for you to shake. “the names-”

PPPBBBBBFFFFTTTT

    You immediately dropped his hand, face blank as you took a moment to process what had just happened. It wasn't until you noticed him shaking with internal laughter that you finally reacted. 

    “Argggh! What is it with you skeletons and whoopie cushions!?” You stomped your foot and pouted, and this only seemed to make him laugh harder. Red and Sans had both joined in the laughter now, while Edge fumed and Papyrus held his skull in his hands. “It's not even that funny! You guys are so immature.”

    The new skeleton finally calmed down enough to speak. “heh, sorry doll, but you  _ definitely  _ remind me of somebody now.” He offered another handshake, and this time you made sure to check for any joy buzzers or whoopie cushions. 

    “Apology accepted.” You brightened back up a little. “You must be the Papyrus from the Underswap universe, right? You're obviously a Papyrus, but based on the hoodie and whoopie cushion, you seem to act more like a Sans.” You grinned up at him. “I'm right, aren't I?”

    He chuckled softly. “swap, huh? is that what inks callin’ it?” He rubbed the back his skull. “yeah, you got me. name's papyrus, but for the sake of avoiding confusion you can call me stretch.”

     Papyrus cleared his throat. “Well, Stretch, if you wouldn't mind giving us a quick refresher? I believe Red may not have given all the details. No offense, Red.”

    Red just shrugged as Stretch began to speak. “well, comic was messing around with that machine of his, as usual. same routine checkup and maintenance, nothing special. all of a sudden, he calls in a real frenzy. well apparently, while he was doing all this normal routine stuff, he started getting some funny signals and whatnot. so of course, rest of us checked our respective machines. sure enough, we're all getting those same funny signals. last time any of us remember getting those sorts of signals was when the old man fell in.” He pauses and shrugs before continuing. “so we’re thinkin’ hey, maybe there's a way to bring him back. we figure if anyone knew it would.be you two, what with you two being so close to him and all.” He chuckled dryly. “heh, literally.”

    Papyrus sat back in his chair as he considered all the new information. Meanwhile, Sans continued to scowl. Red piped up. “too bad mr. tightwad over here doesn't wanna help.” He put on an exaggerated pout and adopted a pitiful, mocking tone. “hes too busy cwying cause he misses his poor wittle daddy.”

    Sans’ eye flashed yellow again, and his tone was strained as he shot Red a warning look. “at least my ‘poor wittle daddy” had enough sense not to fall into the fucking core.”

    Red and Stretch both tensed up at this last comment, and while Stretch remained mostly stoic, his discomfort was clearly evident. Red, on the the other hand, made no effort to hide his displeasure as his eye also began to flash. “he didn't fall and you fucking know that. it was an assasination attempt.”

    “heheh, my bad. he didn't fall, he was too stupid to avoid being pushed!”

    “oh now yer askin’ fer it!” Crimson bones were summoned behind him and flung forward as Sans quickly summoned his own wall of yellow bones to deflect them. As they bounced harmlessly away and dissipated, Sans lunged at Red with lightning speed. “bastard!”

    “freak!”

    “ENOUGH!”

    The conflict stopped as all three Papyrus's shouted in unison. You looked on in awe at the scene before you. Sans was being held in the air by a large green hand you knew had been summoned by Papyrus, a remnant of Gaster’s magic. Red, meanwhile, was currently stuck against the far wall with another crimson bone. You guessed Stretch had flipped the gravity sideways, an ability you knew most of the Sans’ had, and the bone most likely came from Edge, who was glaring daggers at his brother.

    “Woah. I've never seen this much magic used at once.” You said, voice full of a mix between wonder and the slightest hint of fear. Papyrus looked back apologetically. 

    “Sorry about that. Gaster is a sore spot for all of us and these two tend to butt heads quite a bit.” He released Sans, dropping him onto the chair. You noticed Edge made no move to do the same for Red. “Now that that is done. Stretch, Red, as much as I hate to admit it, my brother does have a point. We were the closest to our Gaster, as both of us worked alongside him every day. To help you with this machine could bring up all manner of bad memories, especially if we were to succeed. Now, I may not remember much of it, but as you know, my brother already is plagued by nightmares of the accident. I just dont see why we should risk my brother's, and perhaps my own, mental health for the sake of everybody else. I hope you understand.”

    Stretch nodded, sighing before chuckling slightly. “yeah, we figured you'd say that. i’m guessing the bonebag didn't tell ya?” All eyes turned to Red still hanging from the wall. He grumbled and crossed his arms.

    “i was gettin’ to it.”

    Confusion filled Papyrus's face. He cocked his head slightly. “Tell us what?”

    Red grinned. “well, comic think we might be able to get your old man back too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There we have it! I feel like the writing in this chapter was kind of clunky and awkward but over all I'm happy with how it came out. Leave a comment telling me what you think! Feedback is always appreciated ^^
> 
> Next update: June 4th
> 
> Hey! Consider dropping by [my Tumblr](https://eveewazhere.tumblr.com)!
> 
> Like my work? Maybe enough consider [buying me a coffee](https://ko-fi.com/B0B4DHIY)?


	3. Jealousy?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus and Sans decide to help their counterparts. Of course, this means Papyrus decided to help and Sans has no choice but to agree. Is Papyrus worried about you being around so many clones of him though?

“What!?”

    Red fell to the floor with a thud as the loud noise startled Edge into releasing his magic. Sans and Papyrus both stared, wide eyed and slack jawed. As slack jawed as they could be, at least. Sans’ eyelights had gone out, and you fought the urge to shiver as you recalled the last time you had seen him like that, at a certain restaurant two years ago. He had basically let you know, in no uncertain terms, that a promise to the caretaker of the ruins was the only reason he hadn't killed you on sight. At least, he told you, that was before he had realised you were his brothers soulmate.

    Papyrus was the first to recover, and as he spoke it brought you and Sans back to the matter at hand as well.

    “You mean, we may be able to bring back our version of Gaster as well?”

    Stretch nodded. “uh huh,” he drawled. “comic says he's been gettin’ signals that don't match any of the other universes. while they is some slight variation…” he paused, regarding Sans and Papyrus. “...they resonate at a frequency almost exactly the same as the frequency of your universe. he thinks it might be a timeline split. a gaster from your universe, but from a timeline where the accident never happened. not exactly the same, but pretty darn close.”

    While Papyrus seemed to consider the information, you sat back and began to think. There were so many universes, and you had just barely begun to scratch the surface. You had heard names from Ink. You knew he had names for each universe, an easy way to keep them categorised. Swapfell, Underlust, Dusttale, they were endless. It all made you laugh. If somebody two years ago had told you you were going to end up in a situation like this, freeing a long forgotten race of monsters and ending up in a merged parallel universe, you would have laughed in their faces and called them crazy. But here you were, and you honestly wouldn't want life to have ended up any other way.

    “Alright, we will help.” 

    You were snapped out of your daydream by Papyrus's voice. Sans sat up, his face incredulous.  “woah wait, we're actually gonna help them?”

    Papyrus turned towards him. “Of course we are.”

    “paps, you cant be serious. you really want to help…  _ them _ ? in case you forgotten, those two-” he pointed to the Fell bros “- come from a universe where everyone is a murderer, and the carrot over there and his brother are just plain idiots.”

    Stretch noticeably tensed up, eye flashing orange for a brief moment. “i’d watch what you say about my bro if i were you, else there might be another accident in your future.” Sans growled, but a warning look from Papyrus ensured he didn't press it further.

    “What if the tables had been turned, brother, and it had been us needing help from them?”

    “then i’d have figured out a way to do it on my own.”

    Papyrus sighed. He should have known Sans would be stubborn. “Well unfortunately for you, that is not an option now. We're helping them, and that is final.”

     Sans began to protest, and this caused the whole room to erupt into argument again but you were no longer listening.While the five skeletons discussed, you just watched, and you couldn't help but notice how different each of their personalities were. Despite being different versions of the same two skeletons, they couldn't be more different. 

    Red and Sans seemed the most similar, but you noticed Red mainly attempted to use brute force to get his point across. While prior experience told you Sans was no stranger to doing the same, you knew he much preferred scathing words as his weapon of choice. Meanwhile, Papyrus tried desperately to calm the two hotheads down, you knew he hated fighting of any kind, and Edge yelled over top of both of them while holding Red up by his collar. Stretch seemed to stay out of it for the most part, only jumping in when it looked like things were about to turn ugly.

    Even though they were all fighting, it still brought a slight smile to your face. They all were like open books, displaying so much personality. It reminded you of when you first learned about all the different alternate universes.

~×~×~×~

    “Protector of the multiverse?”

    Ink grinned. “Yeah! I help creators make all the new universes, and I watch over the multiverse to make sure everything is running smoothly.”

    You covered your head in your hands, attempting to process the influx of information. “Woah woah wait. Multiverse? Creators? Universes? I'm not following at all.”

    Ink thought for a moment, then snapped. “I know! Why don't I just show you?” Hefting up his paintbrush, he swiped it through the air in front of him. A trail of rainbow coloured paint looking… stuff followed, which quickly dissolved to reveal what looked like a window. Through it you could see a human. They hunched over a desk, scribbling what appeared to be another Sans. The pages next to them were filled with other monsters you knew from the Underground. Your head began to spin as you watched the strange sight unfold.

    “What… what am I looking at?”

    Ink beamed. “This is a Creator! Creators are extremely powerful humans, they have the ability to create entire universes. This universe you live in now was created by one of the Creators!”

    You sat down upon hearing that, this was getting to be too much. So you changed the subject slightly. “So, you can see that star?”

    “The save star? Yup! I can't interact with it like you can, though.” To prove his point, he reached his hand towards it. Just as he was about to touch it, it wavered and disappeared. “As the Protector, I have to be able to see everything, but that doesn't necessarily mean I can interact with everything.”

    “Okay, so…” A rustling behind you stopped your train of thought. Suddenly, blue strings surrounded from all sides. Your eyes widened with panic as they shot straight towards your chest, you knew they were most likely aiming for your soul. Eyes screwed shut, you prepared for impact but it never came.

    “Error, come out here! You know the rules, no capturing souls while we're checking up on the universes!” Eyes opening, you saw the strings lying on the ground, seemingly harmless now. Looking over to Ink, you him looking rather irritated. 

    “i waAS JuUsst HAaviIInng a lLItTtLEee FuuUnNn…” A voice sounded. You couldn't tell where it originated from, in fact it seemed to come from every direction at once. It was jarring, sounding like somebody took the sound of a record scraping and remixed it with dial up internet, then added a glitchy text to speech over top of it. The voice was extremely unsettling, and just the sound of it was enough to shake you to your very core. You shuddered as it cut right through you.

    “I don't care! Come out here!” Ink stood, hands on his hips, continuing to shout in a seemingly random direction. Silence crept through as he continued to stare disapprovingly.

    “YoUrEEe NNO fFuUNn…” Resisting the urge to shudder again, you noted the voice came from a much clearer direction this time around. You looked towards it, noticing it was, in fact, the direction Ink had been yelling to this whole time. Briefly wondering how he had known, your thoughts were cut short as the owner of the.voice stepped out from the shadows. 

    “Another one?” You wondered aloud as the new arrival stepped out. It looked like yet another Sans. Unlike the first two, however, this one was far more unsettling. His voice matched his appearance perfectly, and you could clearly see how he had gotten the nickname of Error. True to his nickname, errors and glitches covered his body and instead of the white bones you had become accustomed to on all the skeletons before, this one had bones that were charcoal black. Stripes of blue trailed down from his eye sockets, and his fingertips were a deep red. His teeth were a dark yellow, and you couldn't help but notice they were pulled into a very malicious looking grin.

    Most unsettling of all were his eyes. You swear almost felt yourself shrink as his gaze seemed to pierce right through you. His eye sockets were the same deep red as his fingertips and were offset with two differently sized eyelights made up of blue and yellow rings. With a gulp, you leaned over to Ink and whispered. “Is he from one of those other universes you were talking about?”

    “Well, sort of. Error resides in the Multiverse, like me.”

    “Oh! He must be a protector too then, right?” You visibly relaxed. Maybe you were too quick to judge him. After all, if he came from the multiverse like Ink, how bad could he be? 

    “Well, um. Not exactly…? Heh...” Ink trailed off, suddenly seeming unsure. He rubbed the back of skull, laughing nervously. You turned quickly towards him, the expression on his face making you worry all over again. His eyelights were an upside down heart and an X, and you didn't even want to know what they meant.

    “What do you mean, ‘not exactly’?”

    “Wellll…” Before he could finish, he was cut off by Error letting out the creepiest laugh you had ever heard.

    “hEh HEh heH…” Error chuckled darkly.

WHAat hEe mEeAAnS, SweETPeEaa, iIs iiM nOoT HeerEE Too DEEfeENd tHEe UunIivEERseEs..." He raised himself up to his full height and stepped closer until he was just inches from your face. He was now a good foot half a foot taller than you, at least, and he stared down at you condescendingly. The blue strings raised up to surround you again, you looked to Ink for help but it seemed he would only step in if Error actually attacked. You hadn't even realised Error had been slouching before, but if you thought he was intimidating before, now he was downright terrifying. The fact that his next words were eerily free of the glitchy quality you heard before only made it that much more terrifying. 

    “im here to destroy them.”

~*~*~*~

    “I just really think it would be safer if you stayed home…” The other skeletons had long since left, and with G leaving to sulk it just left you and Papyrus in the house. You shot him your best puppy dog eyes as he tried to convince you to stay home

    “No way! I've been dying to meet all the alternates ever since meeting Error and Ink. Besides, I handled the Fell brothers just fine, right? You said they were dangerous, yet I'm just fine." You pouted slightly. "Plus, I don't think I could handle being away from you for so long..."

    The way Papyrus's face hardened didn't escape your notice, he was undoubtedly remembering the incident from earlier. As quick as it came, however, it was gone, softening at your last statement. “Yes, I know but…”

    He looked down at the floor, fidgeting uncomfortably. You could feel something akin to jealousy squeezing his soul. Suddenly you began to understand.

    “It's not just about being safe, is it? There's more to it.” Gears turned in your mind as you began to put the pieces together. “It's all the different version of you, isn't it? You're worried I might get swept away by another you?”

    After a short hesitation, Papyrus nodded. As you made your way over to him and hugged him, his mind turned. Truthfully, there was more to it than that, but you had gotten close. His soul was meant for yours, there was an undeniable connection he knew nobody could deny. But this also meant the other versions of him would feel a little bit of the same connection. 

   He trusted you completely, and logically he knew even if there was any sort of bond between you and the others, it would be nowhere near as strong, merely a ghost of the bond you shared with him. But he also knew the others were impulsive and emotional. He had been too, before the accident. He still was, to some extent.

    Weak or not, the others would try to act on the ghost bond, and he knew it. He also knew some them, hell, most of them, had little to no self restraint, and it made the more emotional part of him, the part of him that was still more Papyrus than Gaster, worry endlessly. What if he lost you? What if you realised you were happier with one of the others? All the pain and worry in his soul was enough to make your own ache.

    “Hey.” You spoke and he snapped out of his daze, looking down at you. You pulled away from him, placing a hand to your chest and pulling out your soul. It was a dazzling red, and snaked throughout it was a bright glimmering green that danced like Aurora Borealis. It was beautiful, and it was undeniable proof of your bond with him.

    “See this? That's because of you, because of the bond I share with  _ only _ you. The others may technically be alternate versions of you, but they're not  _ you _ . My bond isn't with any of them, and I never in a million years would choose anyone else when I already have the greatest soulmate in all the universes. So there's no need to worry, alright? You trust me, don't you?”

    He contemplated your words for a bit. It was funny, even if you didn't fully know what was going on you always seemed to know how to him up. Finally, he gave you a weak smile. He took your soul, planting a small kiss on it before placing it back in your chest. Wrapping his arms around you, he touched his forehead to yours. “Of course I do,  _ mon amour _ .” He whispered. The pain in his soul lessened considerably, but was not completely eased. Still, he let you go with a sigh. “Now go pack your things, it seems we'll be staying over at Comic’s for a while.” 

    You jumped up happily, ready to rush off, but Papyrus lightly grabbed your arm and stopped you before you could.

    “Oh, and Y/N?”

    “Yeah, Papyrus?”

    “Just… Make sure you don't pack anything you don't want to risk getting lost or ruined.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go, chapter 3! Papyrus and Sans will have to start going by their nicknames soon. Of course, Sans will be G, but I'd like to know what nickname you guys would like to see used for Papyrus.  
> [Vote for a nickname here](https://strawpoll.com/resx353k)!
> 
> Ink and Error are gonna be dicks in this fanfic  
> Since the soulbond is obviously soul based and the Swap and Fellswap bros have (at least in my interpretation) basically swapped souls compared to the Tale bros, Blue and Black SHOULD be the ones affected by it. But instead I chose to have it be Slim and Stretch, and for good reason. Why is that reason, you ask? Simple: I love me some tall bois.  
> _________________________  
> Next update: June 18th  
> _________________________
> 
> Hey! Consider dropping by [my Tumblr](https://eveewazhere.tumblr.com)!
> 
> Like my work? Maybe enough consider [buying me a coffee](https://ko-fi.com/B0B4DHIY)?


	4. A Brief Lesson in Underground History and Economics

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus betrays you, Sans gives you a lesson in history and economics, you meet some new skeletons, and chaos already manages to find you. You're pretty sure you're going to have prevent Papyrus from comitting at least one murder before you're done visiting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Its been about two weeks since my last update right?
> 
> No?
> 
> Whoops.
> 
> I really tried to update on time but life hit me like a truck. I'll spare you all the pity party, but basically depression has  
> hit hard and I've been trying to do whatever I can to earn money so I can save up for surgery. Don't worry, it's nothing life threatening or anything. Kinda sex reassignment surgery I guess? Not exactly, I like to think of it more as sex eradication surgery lmao (I'm nonbinary, for those who didn't know).
> 
> Anyway, getting a job is kinda difficult with my social anxiety, but I'm working really hard on it! In the meantime, it would be awesome if you could support me by [buying me a coffee](https://ko-fi.com/B0B4DHIY)!

    “Woah… This place is huge!”

    You looked in awe at the mansion that stretched before you. This was easily the biggest house you had ever seen; it had to be at least three times the size of the house you shared with Papyrus and Sans, which was a good size on it's own. From the outside it seemed to be about three stories, and the exterior was an odd mix of old Victorian and modern day building styles. A chimney stuck proudly off the side of it, billowing smoke. Smoke which was probably magical in nature, you noted, as it had a slightly blue tinge to it.

    “Ready to go in?”

    You looked up to Papyrus as he moved to stand next to you, having just finished getting his luggage from the looks of it. Sans had gone into the house already, so it was only a matter of time before another fight broke out.

    “Yeah, I'm ready. But the question is, are you?” You looked at him with worry, noticing the hesitation written all over his face. He returned your gaze with with a wistful sigh.

    “As ready as I'll ever be, I suppose.” He took your hand, pressing his teeth to the back of it in a comforting gesture. Although, you had a feeling it was less for your sale and more for his own. “Remember, you won't be able to call me Papyrus in there, with so many it would quickly get confusing. Do you remember the nicknames we picked out?”

    “Yup! G for Sans, and for you, Aster. G and Aster.” You turned to smile at him, but your expression froze halfway through. “Wait. Wait! Oh my stars how did I not realise it's a pun!? G and Aster, Gaster! Oh I'm so slow sometimes,” you cried out, slapping a palm to your forehead in exasperation. “I would have expected it from Sans, but now you've betrayed me too!?”

    Papyrus, or rather, Aster, pulled you closer and planted a boney kiss on your temple with a chuckle. “While my brother is clearly the more, for lack of better words, enthusiastic when it comes to puns, never let it be said that I can't enjoy the occasional wordplay as well my dear.” 

   You crossed your arms, pulling away with a grumble of mock anger. “Yeah whatever, let's just get inside. I can't even be seen with you right now!” Turning back to him, you stuck your tongue out before running ahead, giggling all the way. “Catch me if you can!”

   “Ah, wait up dear!”

   “No way, this is payback for that pun! Keep up!~”

    “Please, Y/N, be careful!”

    Right, you should probably watch where you were going. You turned your head back frontwards just in time to catch yourself running headfirst into something first. Your vision filled with orange, and the scent of honey and cigarette smoke overtook your nose as two arms wrapped tightly around you. “oof. woah honey, gotta be more careful,” a familiar voice drawled.

    “Stretch?” You mumbled, voice partially muffled by the hoodie. Shaking your head, you looked up to see his familiar face, complete with a lollipop stick hanging from his teeth.

   “yup, s’me. good thing i was here to catch ya, cause it looks like you're already fallin’ for me.”

    A blush crept onto your face, both because of his words and the realisation that he was still holding you flush against his body. “N-no! I was just-” you jumped up and began to stammer, but a his gravelly chuckle cut you off. 

     “relax hon, i’m just teasin’ ya. ‘sides, looks like your soulmate is here.” He gestured to Aster, standing off to the side with an unreadable expression. “Papyru- Uh, I mean, Aster! Sorry about that.” 

   He put a hand on your shoulder, resting his forehead against yours. “It's alright. I'm just glad you're not hurt,  _ Mon amour _ . Thank you for catching her, Stretch.”

    His tone remained polite and even, and if you hadn't known him so well you probably would have missed the slightest hint of tension in his smile. If Stretch noticed it he gave no visible indication, merely throwing out a halfhearted salute before teleporting away.

    Finally the two of you managed to make it inside. If you thought the outside was amazing, the interior was utterly breathtaking. A huge crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, and it sparkled and shimmered in a rainbow of colours as magic coursed through it. A large staircase with an accompanying banister was visible from where you stood, and intricate carvings swirled along the wooden handrail. In the living room across from you stood the large fireplace the chimney from earlier connected to. Just as you suspected, a colourful fire blazed in it, its hues constantly shifting.

   “Its beautiful,” you breathed. “How could they ever afford it?” You turned to Aster for an answer, but before he could say anything you heard another voice pipe up.

“heh, did somebody say time for an underground history lesson?”

    “Sans- er, G! Where have you been?”

    He grinned as he approached, bottle of Sriracha in hand. “checking out the refreshments. want some?” He knew you hated spice and had little to no tolerance for it, so he didn't even wait for an answer before chugging half the bottle.

    “anyway, as i was saying: time for a little lesson on the history and economics of the underground.” He led you and Aster to the living room, plopping himself down across one of the armchairs while you and Aster took a seat on the sofa. 

    “so, back when everyone was trapped in the underground there was no currency, and everyone would get what they needed by bartering different goods. it was new place, we were trapped down there with none of our old technology or belongings, and so society had to rebuild from the ground up. for a while everything was very primitive.”

    “That's so sad… An entire race being ripped from their home and forced to rebuild from scratch, how could anyone do that?”

    “it's not like it's anything new, you humans had been doing it to each other for centuries.”

    You grew silent. Sans was clearly still bitter, and he was right. That was nowhere near the first, and probably wouldn't be the last, time humans drove people out of their homelands. Aster grabbed your hand and squeezed it gently. 

    “But, everything is alright now, and do you know why?” You looked at him questioningly, and he continued with a soft smile. “It's because we're free now. You freed us, Y/N.” 

    Feeling a lot better, you leaned into him and allowed G to continue his story.

    “anyway, people noticed bits of gold and other metals would occasionally wash down into the dump in waterfall, so for a while people would trade those scraps to be used in machines and stuff. eventually we began to run out of stuff to trade, the metal was all being used and not enough useful stuff washed up to trade with. well, somebody noticed the gold wasn't really being used, and eventually got the bright idea to melt it all down and create a standardised currency. and so, all the gold was turned into g.”

     “G?”

    “yeah, g. short for gold, but most people just called it by its full name. our king was never good at naming stuff.”

    “So how did all of that lead to you guys becoming rich here on the surface?”

    “well we all had high paying jobs in our versions of the underground. i was a high ranking scientist before the accident, and afterwards i worked as an official sentry, and paps here continued to work as a scientist. the others wouldn't have quite the same timelines obviously, but it's safe to assume all the sans’ versions worked as scientists before their gasters fell and went on to work as sentries while the all papyruses worked as high ranking royal sentries. add in the inheritance they almost definitely got from their gasters, and you can pretty much guarantee we were some of the wealthiest monsters in the underground ‘sides the royal family.”

    He paused to take a breath, giving you a chance to let all this new information soak in. When it seemed like you had processed it all, he moved on.

    “now, as for how all that translates into the surface world? well, when monsters arrived on the surface, we discovered that gold was worth significantly more than it was back in the underground. humans had so much of it at one point that it became almost worthless to them. they became careless with it, which led to it being lost, dropped into sewers or sinks and eventually washed away to waterfall. long story short, this led to a shortage, so when monsters started to convert their gold into surface currency, the price of gold had skyrocketed. even monsters that were barely scraping by in the underground suddenly had enough to live a somewhat decent life.”

    You nodded, now beginning to understand just how rich these monsters were. “And now that everything is connected and monsters are free to visit the various Universes, I bet all the skeletons pooled their money together to be able to live comfortably, right?”

    “exactly. and thanks to the skills we learned in the underground, most of us still have well paying jobs now. classic works as a scientist, for example. edge is a bodyguard, and stretch is a fairly successful writer as a hobby but officially works as… actually, i’m not too sure what he does. but anyway, you get the point.”

    “Huh. But wait, the sudden influx of gold should have driven the price down again. What about the monsters who didn't get to convert until after the value had fallen?”

    “heh, you're a smart cookie arent’cha? normally you'd be right, but thanks to ink we found a way around that. we'd find other timelines, ones where the monsters were never freed and the gold value never got a chance to drop, then once the value started to decline in this timeline the monsters could go to a new one and convert there, rinse and repeat. more often than not these would be genocide timelines. if the monsters never lived to see the surface, there would be no way for them to ever drive down gold prices.”

    Reflexively, you squeezed Aster’s hand tighter. “Wow… that's, uh. Morbid…”

   G shrugged apologetically. “just the way of the world sometimes.”

    Nobody spoke after this, and an awkward silence ensued. When about half a minute had passed with nobody saying anything else, G coughed. “but uh, hey, don't let me keep boring you with history and stuff. you kids go explore and have fun before things start getting crazy. i’d show ya around myself, but i hate pretty much everyone here. see ya around.” He gave a lazy two finger salute before popping out of existence, teleporting to stars knows where.

    “Well, guess it's time for a tour?” you asked Aster hopefully. He sighed. 

    “Yes, it would seem I can't put it off any longer. Time to meet the others.”

~×~×~×~

    After all your luggage was stowed away in your temporary bedroom, Aster began to show you around. It didn't take long to meet the first new skeleton, as you bumped into him on your way to one of the three kitchens. 

    “AH, HELLO HUMAN! YOU MUST BE MY GOOD FRIEND ASTER’S SOULMATE, I'VE HEARD SO MUCH ABOUT YOU! MY NAME IS PAPYRUS AND IT IS VERY NICE TO MEET YOU.”

    Aster visibly relaxed as you introduced yourself to his counterpart. While he didn't trust most of these skeletons in any way, this Papyrus was one of the very few he knew he could trust to keep his hands off of you.

    “Oh! Hello, uh, Papyrus… I'm Y/N. I'm glad to meet you too!” It was strange calling this skeleton Papyrus when he wasn't the Papyrus you had come to know and love over the past few years. He must have picked up on this, because he looked and Aster then began to speak again.

    “OH, RIGHT! HUMAN, I HAVE BEEN INFORMED THAT THE NICKNAME I WILL BE GOING BY FOR THE DURATION OF YOUR STAY IS ‘RUS'. YOU MAY FEEL FREE TO CALL ME THAT SO YOU DO NOT GET CONFUSED!”

    “Alright then, hello Rus! Are you cooking something? It smells amazing, could I try some?”

    If he had eyes, you were sure they'd be sparkling right now as his whole face lit up. He grabbed your hand and practically pulled you all the way to the kitchen, sitting you down on a stool at a counter, similar to the setup of a bar. “OF COURSE, I'M COOKING MY FAMOUS SPAGHETTI! LUCKILY FOR YOU, MY DEAR NEW FRIEND, IT IS JUST ABOUT DONE.” He shoveled a scoop of it onto a plate and set it in front of you excitedly.

    The food in front of you was, indescribable, to say least. It was completely charred in some spots and mushy sludge in others. The sauce had pockets of raw tomato seeds mixed with the stems and leaves, and the whole thing was topped off with bits of confetti, actual paper confetti. You looked back up at Rus, who was watching you expectantly. “Wow, it looks, uh… It looks…” You stammered, trying to think of a good word. You didn't want to lie, but you knew you also couldn't eat this spaghetti.

    “sup bro.”

    The arrival of another new skeleton saved you, and you and Rus both turned to see the newcomer. It was a Sans, the classic Sans you assumed. 

    “HELLO BROTHER! I WAS JUST TALKING TO MY NEW FRIEND, THEY WERE JUST ABOUT TO TELL ME HOW AMAZING MY SPAGHETTI IS!”

    His eyes fell to the plate of said spaghetti, then were brought back up to look at your desperate face.

    “well bro, when it comes to your spaghetti, i’m sure it'll  _ pasta _ test.”

    “NYEHHH, SANS!!!”

    While Rus was distracted, the new Sans looked back at you and winked. Confused, you looked down at your plate, only a little shocked to see that all the spaghetti had vanished. “oh no bro, looks like they just finished. too bad, you didn't get to see their reaction.”

    “OH NO! HUMAN, HOW WAS IT?”

    “Oh, uh, great!” From the corner of your eye you saw sans give you a thumbs up. “But… I think I could help you make it even better! My grandma loved to cook and she taught me all kinds of tips and techniques. Maybe I could teach them to you sometime?”

    “OF COURSE! THERE'S NO BETTER FRIENDSHIP ACTIVITY THAN COOKING PASTA, NYEH HEH HEH!” With that, he rushed off to somewhere else in the house.

    “heh, good job kid.” You jumped, forgetting there was another skeleton in the room. “name’s comic, looks like i’ll be seein’ you around here for a while. have fun.” He teleported away, leaving you to wonder what he meant by ‘have fun’. Oh well, you could figure it out later. For now, you had a tour to continue.

Your next skeleton encounter was at the second story bedrooms. Most of the doors were shut, save for one at the very end of the hall. From this one open door, you could hear loud arguing, growing only louder as you and Aster approached.

    “YOU DARN MUTT, HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU TO STOP LEAVING YOUR TRASH IN MY ROOM!?”

    “sorry m’lord.”

    “SORRY NOTHING! IT BETTER BE PICKED UP BY THE TIME I RETURN!” 

    The shorter of the two, another Sans, turned to stomp out the door. As he did so, you noticed he had mulberry coloured eyelights and three large scars running over one of his eyes. He stopped when he noticed you and Aster standing in the doorway. When he didn't say anything for a few moments, you figured he was waiting for you to speak.

    “Uh, hi! I'm Y/N, I'm staying here for a while with uh, Aster, so I'm just going around and meeting everyone.”

    “HM. GREETINGS WORTHLESS HUMAN, I AM THE MALEVOLENT RAZZBERRY. I DO NOT HAVE TIME FOR IDLE CHATTER WITH SUCH A WEAK SPECIMEN, THERE IS MUCH MORE IMPORTANT BUSINESS TO ATTEND TO. IF YOU WANT TO PROVE YOURSELF TO BE NOT COMPLETELY USELESS TO ME, ENSURE THIS MUTT HERE DOES AS I HAVE INSTRUCTED.” He stomped away, and you moved aside to let him pass. How rude.

    “as for me,” began the other skeleton, drawing your attention back to him. In a flash, he had his arm around your waist and you were backed against the wall. His breath was hot as he lowered his head to whisper into your ear, and you shivered as you thought you felt his teeth just barely graze the tip of it. “my name is pup, but you can call me the big bad wolf.”

    “Uhm! Uh, I don't, uh…” Your face grew warm at the sudden invasion of privacy. It took a moment of incoherent stuttering before you finally found your words,but once you did they all came tumbling out at once.

    “Hi there, I'm, uh- I'm Y/N and did I mention I have a soulmate who is currently standing right there and probably isn't too happy with the current situation so if you could please let me go that would be amazing.” 

    As if on cue, Aster coughed once. “Hello, Pup.”

   “hey aster.” He turned towards your soulmate, cocky grin spread across his face as he continued to hold you tight to his side. “how's it goin’?”

   “Quite well, aside from the fact that's my soulmate you are currently holding hostage.”

Pup’s eyes widened in fake surprise. “oh, this is your soulmate? sorry, i had no idea.” He flashed a malicious gold toothed grin as he released you and not to so gently pushed you back to Aster. “well, no matter. yer prob’ly better off with aster anyway. sorry pet, yer just a li’l too… well, lets just say ya ain't really my type. see ya ‘round, doll.” He vanished, leaving you mildly confused and Aster clearly very irritated.

   “Did he just… Flirt with me, insult me, then leave?”

  He sighed, rubbing his face. “I need a drink… Perhaps it's finally time to end our tour for the night.”

   You just nodded, and followed him as he led you to the room you would be sharing with him for the duration of your stay. This was going to be an interesting experience, and you weren't sure if you were ready for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For that little bit with Pup I had to search for sexy nicknames and let me tell you, some of them had me giggling like a madman. You can see all my favourites in the Soulbond tag over on [my tumblr](https://eveewazhere.tumblr.com). 
> 
> In other news, Ive suddenly hit a huge bout of inspiration for this fic and let me tell you, things are gonna get intense. Hope y'all are ready, cause I know I'm not
> 
> Anyway, kudos and comments are highly appreciated, see y'all next chapter!
> 
> ~×~×~×~
> 
> Hey! Consider dropping by [my Tumblr](https://eveewazhere.tumblr.com)!
> 
> Like my work? Maybe enough consider [buying me a coffee](https://ko-fi.com/B0B4DHIY)?


	5. Harlotry and House Meetings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Red is insufferable as usual, but maybe now you've finally shut him down? You meet some new skeletons, Razz is Razz as usual, and you learn a little about the past. Your adventure is only beginning, will you be able to make it through without decking a skeleton? One thing is certain, it's gonna take a whole lotta determination.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright folks, we're back on our Monday schedule! Hopefully this time I can stay consistent ( × v ×;;)

    “GET UP YOU LAZY HEATHENS, IT'S BREAKFAST TIME!! I HAVE MADE DELICIOUS BREAKFAST BURRITOS FOR YOU ALL TO DINE ON!!”

    Razzberry’s voice sounding throughout the house awake you and Aster from your slumber. Blinking the sleep away, you sat up groggily. “Wha time izzit…”

    “5:30 in the morning. I guess I should have mentioned, some of the residents here are even earlier risers than I am.”

    “Nggghhhh…” You flopped back down, covering your head with a pillow. “Too early…”

    CLANG _CLANG_ **_CLANG_**. 

    “I SAID WAKE UP AND COME FEAST ON MY EXPERTLY MADE BREAKFAST YOU SNIVELING PEASANTS!”

    “He's hitting a pot with a wooden spoon now.”

   Still buried in your pillow, you grabbed another nearby one and plopped it onto Aster’s face. “Yeah yeah, time to get up I guess.” And so the two of you made your way downstairs.

    When you reached the main kitchen, you weren't surprised to see almost nobody else had actually arrived yet. There were a few new faces, however, as well as some familiar ones. Stretch winked at you from his seat, and Rus waved enthusiastically. Razzberry seemed to be locked in a heated argument with a brighter version of himself. 

    “RAZZ, I SAID I WAS GOING TO MAKE BREAKFAST TACOS TODAY!”

    “WELL YOU WERE WASTING THE DAY SLEEPING, SO I OF COURSE TOOK SOME INITIATIVE UNLIKE EVERYBODY ELSE IN THIS HOUSE.”

    “I WOKE UP TEN MINUTES AFTER YOU!!”

    “WHO CARES?”

    Cheerful as ever, Rus raised hand to interject. “WHY DON'T YOU JUST WAKE UP EVEN EARLIER AND MAKE YOUR BREAKFAST TACOS TOMORROW?”

    “AHA! THAT'S A GREAT IDEA!”

    After a while of watching them loudly converse, you realised they were blocking the doorway and cleared your throat. “Excuse me, we need to get through here please.”

    While Razzberry huffed and simply stepped to the side, the blue scarved skeleton turned to you with bright blue eyelights and literal stars in his eyes. 

    “OMIGOSH YOU MUST BE THE NEW HUMAN! COME HERE, YOU CAN SIT NEXT TO ME!!” He grabbed your hand and excitedly led you to a chair. On one side was a blue chair covered in stickers of gold stars and rocketships.

    On the other side was a plain chair, in which an armor-clad skeleton sat. It looked like another Papyrus. He was staring at you so you offered a smile, and he jumped when he realised you had noticed him, quickly looking away and lowering his head.

    “Hi! I'm Y/N.”

    He said nothing, so you tried again.

    “I like your armour. Isn't it a little uncomfortable to wear at the table though?”

   Still nothing. You were ready to just let it be, until you heard a small voice.

    “...Manic says not to talk to humans…”

    “Is that your Sans?”

    Hesitantly, he nodded yes, and your soul filled with sadness for this poor skeleton. He seemed so broken, and as he lifted his slightly to look at you, you could see a nasty crack running below his eye. It wasn't quite as bad as Aster’s, but it wasn't pretty either.

    “What's your nickname?” You smiled at him, hoping to lighten the mood.

    “...Klutz…”

    The whisper was barely perceptible but you heard it, and your heart dropped.

    “The others make you go by the name Klutz? That's so sad! What if we call you by a different nickname instead? Just gotta think of one...”

    He looked intently at you with eyesockets wide, seeming confused but also hopeful. You pondered, and you swear you felt your soul call out to his. It was barely noticeable, but it was there.

    “Hey, how about Hope? Because there's always hope for a better life.” You weren't sure exactly why you picked it or where that specific reason came from, but you did know something in your soul was saying it was the right choice. He must have felt it too, because placed a hand to his chestplate.

    “T-thank you…” He whispered, and you grinned at him.

    “Of course.”

    You were aware of him continuing to stare even after you had looked away, but you decided to leave it be. Meanwhile, the table had filled considerably and Razz had begun serving the burritos. 

    “I HAD BETTER NOT SEE EVEN A SCRAP LEFT ON ANYBODY'S PLATES. NOT THAT ANYONE COULD RESIST MY TOP NOTCH COOKING, OF COURSE,” he proudly boasted as something slightly resembling burritos were slopped onto each plate one by one.

   The first thing that hit you was the smell. It smelled like vinegar and lemons, two things you were  _ pretty _ certain didn't belong in a breakfast burrito. The second thing thing you noticed were the eggs. Floating in pools of uncooked yolks were bits and pieces of shells, as if he had just thrown entire eggs into the mix. To top it all off, mixed in with all this mess you could swear you saw… were those  _ staples _ !? You took a quick survey around the table to see if everyone else was having the same reaction.

    Most of the other residents looked fairly unsurprised, which you guessed made sense, seeing as they were used to this bad cooking. G was notably absent, as were many others you suspected, and Aster simply offered a sympathetic look.However, your stomach threatened to empty itself as your eyes landed on a not yet familiar face. 

    He towered over all the others, and looked horrendously gruesome with his beady eyes and mouthful of jagged and bloodied teeth. His appearance wasn't the reason you were two seconds away from heaving, however. No, what horrified and sickened you was the fact that he was shoveling the runny, sour smelling pile of ‘burrito' into his mouth with not a single apparent complaint. In fact, he seemed to be  _ enjoying _ it!

    Evidently your reaction did not go unnoticed, as you could hear Comic and Pup snickering from their seats. You looked to Comic for pleading eyes, but he simply shrugged in return. Apparently he only chose to get involved when it came to his own brother. Your eyes fell to Pup next, who, with a devious look, proceeded to eat the entire mess in one bit while staring you in eye the whole time. You recoiled in shock, which just encouraged him to laugh harder. He did, however, gesture to your plate with a slight head incline of his skull, and you were relieved to see the offending sludge had vanished.

    The rest of breakfast was mostly uneventful. After everybody had ‘eaten’ the rest of their food and had Razz verify it was gone, they all decided it was time for you to formally meet the rest of the skeletons. You went upstairs to hopefully catch a few more.hours of sleep before noon, and an official household meeting was set up.

 

~×~×~×~

 

You milled about as you waited for everyone to finish gathering. Dinner had just ended, and thankfully Aster had managed to convince the others to let him cook. Over in a corner you spotted a very meek looking Hope, so you started to make your way over to him. A bony arm slithering its way around your own stopped you in your tracks, and you were more than a little annoyed to find out who it belonged to.

   “heya kitten, did’ja miss me?” a rough voice practically purred into your ear, and you fought back the urge to shiver in disgust.

    “Ugh, get off of me Red.” You pulled your arm away pointedly.

    “aw c’mon, don’ be like that babe. come have a li’l fun with big red.”

    Gross. You screwed up your face as his tongue lolled out between his pointed teeth. You had gotten more than enough of that tongue the first time you two had met. “Yeah, no thanks. If you don't mind, I'd like to go talk to my friend Hope over there.” You moved to walk away, but in a flash he had reappeared right front of you. In that same moment Hope had noticed you and excitedly began to approach, but his path was cut short as he nearly ran straight into Red.

    “an’ who the hell is ‘hope'? i think ya mean klutz, sweetheart.” He held his face in a sneer, his tone full of mocking. Hope’s face fell, and you clenched your teeth as newfound anger hit you. Calmly, you sidestepped Red and linked your arm with Hope’s. In a voice loud enough for the whole room to ear, you spoke.

    “I'm sorry, Red, but I'm quite certain I was right when I said  _ Hope _ , seeing as a sweet skeleton such as himself doesn't deserve to be called a cruel nickname like Klutz, and I just know  _ most _ of the residents of this household know better than to do something so terrible.” As you said this you looked around, ashamed of all the guilty faces you saw looking back. Turning your attention back Red, who was now beginning to sweat, you continued. “However, I do think a more fitting nickname for you would be Harlot, and that's if I'm being extra generous. Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to have a decent conversation with a friend, so I kindly request you leave us alone.”

    Speech over, you turned on your heel and led Hope away to another part of the room. Some of the other skeletons began to laugh and snicker, and you even heard a wolf whistle from one of them. Red scowled, face flushed bright crimson, and it filled you with immense satisfaction to see even Hope trying to hold in a laugh of his own. With a new sense of purpose, you couldn't help but smile. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad here after all.

    You didn't get much time to revel in your victory before a skeleton clapped to signal the meeting start. He was tall, so obviously another Papyrus, and you  _ really _ hoped he was one of the ones Aster had told you could be trusted. With an olive green sweater over a plain white collared shirt, complete with khakis and an orange scarf around his neck, he looked far more official and put together than the rest of the skeletons. Even his tone of voice was more controlled than the rest of them.

    “Greetings, everyone! Please settle down, we are here to formally introduce our new temporary houseguest to everybody! Y/N, if you could please come up here?”

    You approached him warily, but he made no advances other than to put a hand on your shoulder. 

    “Now, I believe you've already met some of them, so we'll get them out of the way first. Over there is Red and Edge, there's Stretch, Razzberry, and Pup. Rus and Comic over there, and off in the corner is Hope. Much better name by the way, I never did like the name Klutz.” 

    You turned to look at each skeleton as he pointed them out. Stretch gave a lazy wave without even looking, and you smugly noticed that Red wouldn't even look you in the eye. Hope gave a timid wave from his corner, and Rus gave a much more enthusiastic one. Razz and Edge both scoffed and turned away at the same time, Comic just shrugged and winked in a somehow non-flirtatious way, and you were pretty sure you could see a peek of Pup’s tongue accompanying his extremely flirtatious wink.

    “Now, onto the new skeletons! Over there in the blue scarf-” You looked to see him bouncing excitedly, eyelights in the shape “-is Blueberry, Stretch’s brother. There in the light blue jacket,” He pointed to a Sans with a pale blue, almost white, hoodie who crouched low in the corner with Hope. You would have never noticed him if he hadn't been pointed out, and you noted he almost looked like he was expecting to be attacked at any moment. “-That's Manic, Hope's brother.”

    He paused here to let you process, then continued. “The one with the large skull wound is Axe, he comes from Horrortale. With him is Sugar, his brother of course.”

      You recognized Sugar as the one devouring today's breakfast, and your stomach turned a little at the thought. You fought it down as the introductions continued.

    “That lazy bones on the couch is my brother Alpha, who I'm frankly quite surprised even bothered to show up.” This remark, though scornful, seemed to bear no real ill will, and Alpha just seemed to shrug it off with a grin. 

    “Unfortunately not everyone is present at this time, which leaves just me. You can call me Skipper.” He bowed politely with a smile.

    “Skipper? Like, sailors?”

    He chuckled, a small “nyeh heh” sound. “I'm afraid not. Skipper like many species of butterfly; since I've been told I'm quite the ‘social butterfly’, the others decided it would be fitting.”

    The others began to disperse, you noticed, but you chose to continue chatting with Skipper.

    “By the way, I've heard a couple of the other housemates have been bothering you and I'm sorry you're having to deal with their immaturity.” He flushed slightly orange and looked to the side, then cleared his throat and looked back to you. “Honestly I would be lying if I claimed to not feel the bond too. But fear not Y/N, I would never even think to try and swoop in on someone who already has a soulmate. No funny business from me, skeleton’s honour.”

    You smiled gratefully. “Thank you Skipper. I'm not sure I could handle being flirted with anymore, truthfully. It's all overwhelming, and I know it stresses Aster out, too.”

    “Unfortunately, being trapped in the Underground evidently made them lose any manners they once had. Luckily! I never was trapped like them and my manners are impeccable. I'll have a word with them, but I'm afraid I can't guarantee any results. They tend to not listen to me since I'm never around much.”

    “You never lived Underground?” You tilted your head curiously. “That must have been wonderful, never being trapped.”

    “Ah, no, we did live Underground for a while. We were never trapped, however, we went to live there by choice. Tensions began rising between the two races, and so to avoid a war, monsterkind peacefully offered to move to the Underground. We were able to leave to get supplies from designated monster areas on the surface, so long as we stayed out of human societies. Eventually, sometime when I was a babybones, we reached a peaceful negotiation, and monsters were once again free to mingle with human villages. Not all were accepting and progress was bumpy at times, but it was still a great deal better than most of the others got.”

    “Wow, that's amazing. And you own this whole house?”

     “Yes, but unfortunately I'm not around to use it much. I'm always away on work, and Sa- ehm, Alpha, is always away doing… Well, I'm not quite sure what he does. We inherited it from our Gaster, but since we never use it we decided to rent it out to our clone selves. It works out best for everybody this way, the house is being used and our timeline is able to serve as a meeting place for everybody.”

    You nodded thoughtfully. “Right. It's probably safest here, since the humans in this universe are already used to the monsters. Are you and Alpha going to try to get your Gaster back too?”

    Skipper’s grin faltered a bit, and he averted his eyes to look just past you. “Ah, no. There's, ah, no Gaster for us to get back. He died of natural causes about a decade back, no accident involved.”

    “Oh! I'm… I'm so sorry.” You placed a hand atop his gloved one in a comforting gesture, and he smiled at you gratefully. 

    “No matter, it's all in the past now. As long as I can reunite the others with their own Gasters, I'm more than happy.”

    He got up now and began to head towards the front door. “I'm sorry to cut this short, but I'm afraid I've been gone for far too long already. It was very nice to meet you Y/N.” He bowed again and turned to step out, but hesitated and turned back to you.

    “Oh, and, Y/N?”

    “Yes?”

    “I may be trustworthy, but bear in mind, not all of my clones are as respectful as me. Just… be careful with the whole physical contact thing. I would hate to see you get hurt in any way, and I know Aster would feel the same. Goodbye.”

    The door shut behind him, and you leaned back on the couch with a sigh. At least there were two skeletons you could count on to not be constantly flirting. If you were lucky, Edge wouldn't pose a problem either, but you couldn't know until you talked to him more. What you did know for sure, was that today had been exhausting, and it was high time you found Aster and headed to bed. 

    With a deep breath you steeled your mind and felt the determination fill your soul. This was only the beginning of your time here, and you had a feeling you were still on an uphill track. It was going to take all your determination and willpower to make it through without strangling somebody, but you were ready.

    You were filled with DETERMINATION.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reader is affected by these bond echoes just as much as the other Papyruses, she just doesn't realise it since she's not well versed in soul stuff. Also introducing two of my AU's! Manic and Klutz/Hope are from Manictale and Skipper and Alpha come from Fiftiestale (better name pending lmao). You have no idea how hard it was to find a good nickname for Skipper ( T ^ T;;)
> 
> Fun fact, Skipper is currently around 22 years old while Alpha is about 25 , which means they were about 11 and 14 when Gaster died. They mainly raised themselves after this, but they did have help from the community whenever they needed it.
> 
> Hope and Manic are 19 and 21, while we're on the topic lmao
> 
> Next chapter I plan on y'all seeing a lot more with Ink and Error since I've been neglecting them lately, so stay tuned!
> 
> Next update: July 30th
> 
> ~×~×~×~
> 
> Hey! Consider dropping by [my Tumblr](https://eveewazhere.tumblr.com)!
> 
> Like my work? Maybe enough consider [buying me a coffee](https://ko-fi.com/B0B4DHIY)?
> 
> Don't forget, comments are the best way to motivate me to write more!


	6. Ink-stained Memory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ink and Error continue to hold up your journey. Does Ink see something special in you, or is he just a bit of a dick? Probably a little of both, really.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ngaAAHHHH  
> Chapter six is finally here! And I only missed the last deadline by, uh, five months! I'd say we're back on our regular schedule now, but you all know how that worked last time (T v T;;) I'm trying my best now though!

 “Woah woah woah hold on. Did he just say ‘destroy them’?”

 You fell back onto the snow in shock, not even caring or noticing that the snow was seeping through the butt of your jeans. “Hang on, I need a minute to process this.”

 Ink scowled, turning to bonk Error on the head with his paintbrush. “Don’t listen to him, he’s just being overdramatic. He can’t actually hurt anyone, or anything.”

 Error winced and rubbed his skull where he had been hit, shooting an even nastier scowl back. You looked back and forth between them, trying to decide whether or not it was too early to feel relieved. “So, I’m definitely safe?”

 “Of course!” Ink grinned and gave an enthusiastic thumbs up. You began to relax, until he added, “As long as I’m around, of course.”

 “What!?”

 “Yeah, wasn’t that obvious? I can keep his abilities in check, he can’t destroy anything as long as I’m here.”

 You dropped your head down to your hands with a groan, muttering under your breath. If Ink had cared enough to try to listen, he probably could’ve heard something along the lines of “these damned skeletons” and “should’ve stayed in Snowdin”. He cocked his head at you, eyelights in the shapes of question marks. “Why are you freaking out?”

 With an incredulous expression, you looked up at him. “Why am I freaking out!? Well let’s see, I just found out there are tons of universes like my own, all of which, _including mine_ , are the whim of some entity called a ‘Creator’. On top of that, I’ve met two alternate versions of my soulmate’s brother, one of which is evidently bent on destroying everything these ‘Creators’ made! So I don’t know, why do you think I'm freaking out!?”

 Ink's answer was cut short by the sound of a teleportation accompanied by two soft footfalls. At this point you had squeezed your eyes shut and began rubbing your temples, not even willing to look up long enough to see who had arrived. You didn’t actually need to look, because the sound of the familiarly rough and gravelly voice quickly answered the question.

 “hey, you uh, alright? paps said you were freakin’ out about somethin’, so he sent me to come check on ya.”

 Hands dropping from your temples, you slowly stood up and made your way over to where Sans stood a short distance away. He watched with an eyebrow cocked and a slightly amused grin as you silently stopped to stand in front of him, arms outstretched. “Here you go.”

 “uhh..?”

 “Just stick a bone right through my heart please, I’ve had enough of this.”

 “ah, right. and what exactly is ‘this’, again?” He raised an eyelight to look behind you. You gestured wildly to Ink and Error, exasperation printed on your face clear as day.

 “ _This_! Them! Everything!” At this point you weren’t really gesturing to anything in particular, instead you just sort of swung your arms to indicate the general surrounding area. Sans chuckled.

 “i see. well, i’d love to help ya out here, but dont’cha think we should let paps know before you decide to to become a human-kebab?”

 You stared at him for a brief moment, before slumping forward to bury your face in his jacket. His eyesockets widened for a moment as you caught him off guard, and he let out a soft _huph_ as he tried to simultaneously catch you and keep his balance.

 “woah there, easy does it.”

 “Saaaans…” You let out a pitiful whine, gripping the sides of his jacket. “I- He- I thought he was you but he wasn’t and he started talking about other universes and different versions and creators and destroying the world and- and…”

 “shh, it’s alright. these two just like to make everyone’s lives more difficult.”

 You moved your head to look back up at him. “You mean, you know them?”

 “heh, well this isn’t my first experience with these two worldhoppers. when you study things like the multiverse and the existence of parallel dimensions, it kinda comes with the territory. id like to say it gets easier over time, but… well, basically, these two are always fun.”

 You buried your face back into his jacket, grumbling. “If by fun you mean a giant headache..”

 He rubbed your back and gave a quick snicker. “actually, that’s pretty much exactly what i meant.”

 You stayed there for a moment, willing the headache to go away, until you felt a small pang of worry that wasn’t your own in soul, reminding you of why Sans had come out here in the first place. Somewhat reluctantly, you stepped away and turned back to the colorful doppelgangers still standing there. “Okay. Listen. Error, Ink? It was, uh, great to meet you and all, but this is all too much for me to take in right now. I mean, I’m still not entirely used to the fact that a whole society of monsters is living under a mountain! So, I’d really rather just pretend none of this happened. Okay?”

 Ink frowned, seeming disappointed, but he nodded in agreement. At that moment, an idea seemed to suddenly strike him, and his eyelights lit up.

 “Oh! I have an idea, hold on! Let me just…”

 He pulled a few vials of various colours from his belt, regarding each of them in turn. After some consideration, he seemed to settle on the vial containing a translucent, almost shimmery red substance, and the others were put back in their places. Proceeding to uncork the chosen vial and pouring some of the contents onto the ground in front of him, he then pulled his paintbrush from his back and dipped the tip into the red puddle. He pulled the brush away with a quick movement, and you watched in wonder as the liquid began to follow it, growing more shimmery and ethereal as it did so. It seemed to move as if it was a living, breathing creature, and despite present thoughts of these two new skeletons, you couldn’t deny it was amazing to watch. The red snaked and twisted through the air gracefully, Ink’s brush guiding it’s every move as it flowed like a ribbon on the wind. All at once, he stopped the brush, and the ribbon seemed to fold in on itself. With a small flash of light it disappeared, and Ink held out his hands to catch the small object that fell from where the ribbon had just been.

 He turned it over a few times, seeming to think about something. After giving a quick glance to Error, he seemed to have found the solution he wanted as he turned towards the glitchy counterpart.

 “String, please!” He held out his empty hand with a pleased.”

 “nO.” Now sitting on the snowy ground, Error didn’t even hesitate before giving his answer, scowling at Ink. Ink’s brow furrowed.

 “Error, give me a string.”

 “fFuuUckK 0fF. IIM NOo0Tt LEeTTI1INGg yoOU teTthERrr mMmE tTO sSOomEe _hUUumAanNN_.” He spat this last word with absolute disgust, as if the very word was a plague on his being. You couldn’t help but feel just a little offended. Ink simply shrugged as if he didn’t actually care.

 “Fine, guess you’ve forced my hand. Hey human! Wanna hear something fun?”

 You looked back and forth between the two in confusion, noting Error was giving Ink a suspicious glare. Momentarily ignoring that, along with the mention of ‘tethering’, you turned to respond to Ink.

 “Uh, I guess?” You cocked your head a bit to the side, one eyebrow slightly raised.

 “Did you know, when we have free time and we’re not checking on the AU’s, Error loves to kn-”

 “fF1iIN3e! Yo0u ccA4aN HhHAaveE tHh3 5tTuUPiDd sTtrii1NgG, jjJuUUs5sTT SsHHutTt uUp!!” His words seemed to get even more glitchy as a bright yellow blush lightly covered his cheekbones, and if you hadn’t already been so confused  by the whole situation, you probably would’ve found this rather amusing. Regardless, Ink winked at your conspiratorially and a triumphant grin plastered itself onto his face. Muttering some colourful obscenities, Error refused to look Ink in the eye as, with a motion similar to the one Ink had used earlier to open the window to the Creator, he produced a small blue thread from out of mid-air. You suppressed a shudder, recalling your far-too-close call with those threads. Ink took the thread, Error snapping his hand back with a disgusted expression as soon as  he did so. Multihued tongue stuck out in concentration, Ink turned away from you and began doing something with the two objects he now held. You briefly considered trying to look over his shoulder to see what he was up to, but it wasn’t long before he suddenly turned back to you, looking immensely pleased with himself. He held something up, allowing to finally see it clearly.

 “Ta-dah!!” He beamed.

 You looked over the object with curiosity now that it was in full view, it appeared to be a pendant or bracelet of some sort. You could see where Error’s thread made up the woven string, and looped throughout it was the same shimmery red, only it now took the form of several small, seemingly solid, almost crystalline orbs. Turning your gaze back to Ink, you could see he seemed to be looking at you expectantly.

 “Well??”

 "Uh… What… is it?” You asked, hesitantly. He frowned slightly, looking at you as if it was if it were obvious.

 “Well, it’s a link, of course! Like Error said, it serves as a sort of tether between you and the two of us. Basically, if  you ever want to see us, you just have to try and reach out while wearing or holding this, and it can let us know you’re calling. Neat, huh?”

 “Huh, I guess that is kinda cool.” You took the charm, turning it over in your hands. It _was_ kind of neat, admittedly. You weren’t sure you would ever use it, not after the way this first meeting had gone. Still, it was probably better not to mention that part while Ink was standing there looking so proud of himself. You wrapped it around your right wrist, holding you arm out to Sans so he could tie it off. Once it was comfortably tied, you turned your attention back to Ink and Error, the latter of which was still sulking like a scolded child. The three of you stood in awkward silence for a moment, save for Ink, who seemed to be completely oblivious to the awkwardness as he waited for somebody else to speak. Finally, you broke the silence.

 “So, is that, uh… Is that all? Cause I kinda have a journey to complete and all, which is why I was out here in the first place, so..”

 “Oh, right! Error, ready to go?” Ink pulled his paintbrush out one last time, preparing to create another portal you assumed. Error sneered, making no move to get up from where he sat.

 “i woOuLLd raAAtHEr DduSsT mmYSeELF rRiGhTt NnOWww ThanN gO bBAccCk wWIItHh yYOo- hRKk!” He was cut off as Ink suddenly grabbed him by the hood of his jacket, heaving him up to a somewhat standing position.

 “Bye Y/N! Good luck on your journey!” Ink waved cheerfully, while Error shouted and flailed in an attempt to get free. You waved back, just wanting this whole thing to hurry and be over with. With a swish of the brush across the ground, a new portal was opened up. Error continued to yell as Ink prepared to step through.

 “llLEetT MMeEE GGoO YoU stuUPiD aaiRHEAd baaAG of bo-” Cutting him off once again, Ink jumped through the portal. Error was left to flail helplessly, screeching as they both fell through. Once the portal had closed back up, you breathed a sigh of relief. Sans chuckled behind you.

 "well, that sure was fun.” You scoffed.

 "Yeah, _fun_. I’m just glad it’s over. I do have to wonder though, why’d he give me this bracelet? I know it’s so I can call him if I ever wanted to, but why me specifically? I mean, if he’s able to see all these universes and stuff, what makes me significant enough to warrant being able to call him whenever I want?” You ran a finger lightly across the smooth beads of red as you pondered. Sans just shrugged in response.

 “who knows? even i don’t know all that much about the multiverse, at least not compared to him. i basically just know they exist. and ink is impossible to explain, he’s some sort of anomaly in and of himself. i dont think it's even possible to figure out how or why his mind works. maybe he sees something special in you, or maybe he just thinks you’re a fun new plaything. either way, i’d be just the slightest bit cautious around him if i were you. he’s peaceful, for the most part, but i’m sure you noticed he seems to have a rather, uh, _off-colour_ sense of morality. just stay safe, alright kid? after all, someone really cares about ya.” He tapped his sternum as he said this, and you instinctively reached up to touch the angel-shaped pendant you had hanging just above your soul. Made of vibrant green and holding a heart which mirrored your own soul of deep red, Papyrus had given it to you as a gift one day. You hadn’t taken it off since. You smiled slightly.

 “Thanks, Sans.” You hugged him with one arm, still holding the pendant in the other

 “no problem. just remember, you can always come home if you need to. i know you’re set on this, but don’t push yourself too hard.”

 Feeling the wind chilled charm slowly warm up from the natural heat of your hands, you felt a lot better. Smiling, you felt the familiar feeling of determination wash over you. These skeletons, no, all of these monsters, had done so much for you. It was time for you to return the favour.

 “Thanks, but I have to do this. Tell Papyrus I love him and I’ll be back soon, alright? And you take care of him for me until I get back.”

 Sans nodded, teleporting away. You looked on towards Waterfall, resolution set in your face. It was time for you to break the barrier. You didn’t know how, but you were determined. Reaching out the the golden star which still flickered nearby, you summoned that mysterious energy that allowed you to SAVE. Not wasting any more time, you set off towards the sound of rushing water. It was time for you to free everyone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, those wacky skeletons, amirite? Always trying to destroy universes and whatnot, what a buncha cards.   
> I'm really planning on trying to keep a somewhat consistent schedule from now on, I've really missed writing these guys.  
> Up next, we finally see some progress on the Gaster endeavour! If the rest of these guys can stop flirting for long enough to get some work done, that is. I wouldn't count on it.
> 
> Next update: ??????
> 
> ~×~×~×~
> 
> Hey! Consider dropping by [my Tumblr](https://eveewazhere.tumblr.com)!
> 
> Like my work? Maybe enough consider [buying me a coffee](https://ko-fi.com/B0B4DHIY)?
> 
> Don't forget, comments are the best way to motivate me to write more!


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